Star-Cakes
by Zabbie Q
Summary: [Post Ep. 44] When Joker asks for Reika's help, she makes a surprising discovery about Emperor Pierrot.
1. Chapter 1

Reika had not bought anything during the Christmas shopping expedition, aside from a cup of cocoa from a food vendor's truck. The taste of the lovely chocolate lingered in her memory, but a sweeter sensation took hold of her as she hung up her blue princess coat in the hall closet.

To think she could have been, right then, starting her life in England for the study-abroad program!

If she had accepted the position, she would have departed for Europe during the winter break. Then she would not have just spent a delightful afternoon with her five dearest friends — Miyuki, Akane, Yayoi, Nao, and Candy the tiny fairy — and she would not have strolled through the winter illuminations, which had sprung to life around them as if awoken by magic. She would not have been present to help her friends summon the Pegasus and the Phoenix to defeat the Hyper Akanbe which Wolfrun, the Big Bad Wolf himself, had used to attack Cure Happy. She would have not been there to share in the joy as Candy collected the Cure Decor which Wolfrun's monster had dropped. They had just one more of the magical bibelots left to retrieve, and then the Queen of Märchenland would be revived.

Reika smiled as she stepped toward her room, barely noticing the December gelidity which hung even in the enclosed hallway. She heard her mother listening to the news on the radio inside her parents' room; although the winter sun had set, it was at least another two or three hours before dinner would be served. That gave Reika plenty of time to do a little reading before she helped with the meal preparation. Better yet, she might pull out her _suzuri_ inkstone and prepare some _sumi_ ink to practice calligraphy. The gentle grinding of the ink stick always relaxed her, which would be a welcome activity after the afternoon's excitement, especially as the thought of one remaining Decor quickened her heart even now.

She imagined the colossal Queen of the fairy-tale characters springing to life out of her literal petrified status to restore the joy to her kingdom. Reika had only spoken to her once, but she had sensed the motherly love the queen had for her realm. The loyalty of Candy, Pop, and the other fairies testified to her kind heart, and the magic of the Cure Decors — which could produce food, clothing, mermaid tails, flowers, and a host of other delights — spoke volumes of how nurturing and mindful she was of her people's needs. Most important, the Queen had the tremendous power to protect her subjects from the wicked Emperor Pierrot and his baleful servants from the Bad End Kingdom. That was a fight the Precure might have to participate in alongside her, which made Reika doubly confident that she had made the right decision to remain in Japan.

It had not been an easy decision to stay home and pass up such a rare opportunity, one which her hyper-intelligent older brother had not achieved when he was in middle school, but in the end Reika felt a peace about her choice. Unexpectedly, it had taken a despicable enemy trying to harm her to reveal her heart's chosen path. Joker, that smirking, malevolent lichen of a jester who served Emperor Pierrot, had temporarily kidnapped Reika, whisking her to an alternate dimension where he played upon her doubts and indecision to send her plummeting into despair. When he had Reika at his mercy, he had grown cocky and overplayed his hand by taunting Reika's friends to send her to England with a smile. The girls had instead confessed their sorrow over her departure, which in turn had made Reika see her need to stay with them.

_Where would I be if Joker hadn't been so arrogant?_ she thought with a bit of a shudder as she passed her grandfather's door; she could hear him inside, no doubt creating another masterpiece with his calligraphy brush. What would he have thought if Reika... hadn't come home that day?

Fortunately for her, Joker hadn't injured her when he had gained the upper hand. She had defeated him, shattering that other world with her friends' help and gaining the Pudding Decor from the Akanbe Joker had wanted to use to destroy her.

Mercifully, he had only appeared a meager amount of times throughout that year, and even that was too much for Reika's tastes. At least during their duel she had been at her strongest thus far, tapping into a previously unknown power. She had far too much sense to let her guard down regarding him, even now, but she felt a grim confidence that when their paths would inevitably cross again, she would be prepared for whatever he had in store for her.

As she slid open the door to her room, she noticed several things in rapid succession. First, the _shouji_ door of the opposite wall stood open, giving her a clear view of the shadowed courtyard and allowing the unwanted frigid breeze to enter. Second, the still falling snow had accumulated on the _engawa_, and deep, messy marks etched its white surface as if someone had dragged a body through it and tracked ice onto the clean _tatami_. Third, that very body laid on its side by her dresser, its head toward her, and the light of the hall streaked over her shoulder, casting her shadow over the lurid hair of primary colors, purple-and-white medieval garb and skinny arms clutching a narrow belly.

She stopped in her tracks, her heart withering up inside her chest.

"Joker!" she cried, plunging her hand into her skirt pocket for her Smile Pact. She held the pink compact up like a weapon, ready to transform and fight, vividly imagining what he'd do to her family if he got past her.

As Joker raised his head to look up at her, only then did she realize he was panting.

"Please..." he rasped. "Make it stop..."

* * *

Against all her common sense, Reika hesitated. Her heart thundered like a steam locomotive going uphill, and adrenaline tingled through her limbs, urging her to protect herself, to protect her mother listening to the radio, to protect her grandfather working on his calligraphy, both of whom had no clue that a death sentence laid in her bedroom.

But she hesitated.

She stared at his constricted countenance. Sweat poured down over the front of Joker's white mask and down his sharp face; a sickly pallor blanched his pale skin further until it resembled the snow he had brought into her room. She glanced from him to the open door; Joker could teleport and fly. He didn't need to use conventional entrances to get where he wanted, so something big must have happened to put him in such a state.

Unless, that was what he _wanted_ her to think.

She narrowed her eyes again. "What's going on here?" she questioned, her voice chilled with tranquil fury.

"Please... help..." he panted.

Surely he didn't expect her to fall for such an old trick?

She held her Smile Pact a little closer. She opened her mouth to cry out the words to start her transformation — and Joker groaned again, squeezing the eye holes of his mask so tight together that they seemed to disappear.

The words hovered on her lips, refusing to emerge. She swallowed them back instead. If it were a trick, it was an unnecessary one and completely out of character for him. Joker was like an ambush predator, waiting in hiding to attack his prey. He wouldn't feign sickness when he could just as easily sneak up behind her.

So it had to be real.

She moved half a step closer, studying him. "Are you in a lot of pain?"

He slurred something unintelligible into the floor.

"What happened to you?" she asked, shuffling a little nearer.

He raised his head enough to free his muffled mouth. "_Star-Cake_," he choked out. "Stupid Star-Cake... Magic didn't work. Can't fly home. Make it stop, Cure Beauty."

"Star-Cake?" she repeated. "Were you poisoned?"

He shook his head. "I don't know. Got it off Clown-san. Didn't work." He said _Clown_ in English.

"A clown... gave you a Star-Cake," she repeated. Considering he was a jester who worked for a clown emperor, she wasn't surprised he knew more circus folk. "What's a Star-Cake?" she asked, picturing something like the snack foods sold at summer festivals.

Joker started to answer, but his limbs spasmed, and he curled up into a tighter ball. "What have I put in my body?" he moaned.

Reika tried to recall what she knew about first-aid, but nothing seemed suitable for a non-human who had consumed magical victuals. Did she induce vomiting somehow? No, that could be dangerous, and she could leave him in a worse condition—

She snapped her head up, shaking herself. What was she doing? Joker had tried to kill her before; he had no mercy within his dark soul. If she helped him recover, he would no doubt try to harm her again.

But she couldn't very well roll him into the side yard to die. Could she really ignore another living creature when he was suffering? Even if it was Joker? What else could she do?

She knitted her brows, giving Joker a sweeping glance. If only she could ask Grandfather for advice — if only her family knew her secret of being a Precure and knew about Joker's despicable character and could help her weigh the pros and cons of her options...

"Why should I help you?" she asked monotonously.

He turned his head, laying his cheek flat against the _tatami_ to look blearily up at her with one dark eye.

"Because," he said in a pathetic whimper, "you're the only one smart enough to help."

Against her better judgment — and against the memories of every despicable thing he had done to her personally and to her friends — Reika's heart softened for him. If Joker could praise her so highly, it could only mean he was in genuine agony.

She reached for his hand, pushing back the thick, red bracelet on the end of his sleeve to check his pulse, which thundered beneath her fingertips. His skin felt uncomfortably warm and moist.

"What do you need me to do?" she asked gently.

"Need to go to... bakery," he said between pained grunts. He spoke so softly Reika had to bring her ear down toward his lips.

"A bakery?"

"That's where Clown-san got the cake. Cake made me like this. The bakers will know how to fix this. Can't fly. Can't teleport."

She looked over him as she helped him sit up. Joker was usually so calm, as if he could see around corners and had everything planned out. Sometimes, it had frustrated her when she fought him; she could push her physical powers to the breaking point, and he would just giggle, as if she were just a little dog playing tug-of-war with him. Now, his head leaned against her, and she could smell the sweat which soaked his variegated hair and made the points wilt. For once, he needed her, and she couldn't just call for one of the other generals to come to her house to pick him up.

But what happened when he felt better?

She exhaled slightly, narrowing her eyes.

"I'll help you this one time," she said, "but you better remember it the next time you want to cause trouble."

Joker only groaned, clutching his skinny belly.

* * *

Reika took the precaution of transforming. Within moments, her milk-blue dress, periwinkle sweater and matching socks vanished as the magical compact overlaid her slender body with the lovely blue uniform of Cure Beauty. With a burst of blue light, her dark-zaffre, mid-length, _hime_-style hair grew longer, lighter, and more elaborate, and a white tiara materialized atop her head, framed by two ornamental feathers. The fairy-like lights shod her socked feet with the calf-high, white-and-blue boots while white bracers hugged her forearms.

She closed the door to the _engawa_, and she noted Joker's trail came through the blanket of snow from an indentation by the courtyard wall, as if he had fallen from a significant height. How did he get here to begin with?

She helped Joker to his feet and draped his arm around her shoulders, looping her other arm around his thin waist. Despite his light weight and her enhanced strength, his height made it awkward to move, especially when he drooped over her after the first two steps. She considered picking him up bridal style, but she decided against it and guided him to the tall bookcase on the other side of her room, wincing a little as his wet curled shoes shuffled across the clean _tatami_. With three slides of books, she unlocked the Book Door, and the bright pink light took them to the little house within the Mysterious Library.

The cottage was actually an enormous tree stump, but the Star Decor had transformed it into a cozy hideout for the Precure, complete with furnishings and indoor plumbing. ("It's 'just right,' like in the Three Bears story," Miyuki often said.) Other the past year, the girls had added their own little touches to make it their own, from the harlequin tea cups to the cute knickknacks for the book shelves. Although Reika carried a boy who had tried to kill her more than once, as soon as the pink light faded from the quint-fold bookcase, the calming influence of the Mysterious Library touched her heart and made her tense limbs relax despite herself.

Joker, however, trembled against her. "This place gives me the creeps," he said, glancing warily about. His hold tightened on her like a child hugging his teddy bear for reassurance.

"Where do we need to go?" she asked, trying to get him to focus.

"Star Maidens," he replied, staring suspiciously at a vase of flowers Reika had contributed to the hideout.

"As in... stars who are maidens? Or maidens who live among the stars?" she asked. Given what she had seen over the past year alone, neither would surprise her.

"Star Maidens," Joker repeated, slurring slightly. "They make Star-Cakes. They'll talk to Cure Beauty."

It did not give her a lot of information. However, she remembered the first time she had ever visited the Mysterious Library. Her fairy friend, Pop, had been able to sense that a Bad End Space had been activated back on Earth. Although they had not known at the time where the attack had been located, by picturing in their minds the place where people's smiles were being taken, the girls had been able to navigate the Book Doors to save the day.

Reika closed her eyes, focusing. _Star Maidens who make Star-Cakes. Star Maidens who make Star-Cakes_.

Then she removed a book from the shelf behind them and began again the three movements of the Book Door Code. She sensed more than heard each magical lock clicking, and a pink light appeared where the communal library had been. It drew both her and Joker in like a magnet, and they soared again through the familiar tunnel of white light and rainbow colors.

She kept a tight hold of Joker as the other end of the portal appeared, a dark patch the size of a postage stamp and steadily growing bigger. At last, Reika hopped out of the air and back onto solid ground. Joker draped over her shoulder, limp. As the pink light of the Book Door vanished behind her, Reika's eyes adjusted to the new light, and she saw it wasn't quite as dim as it had looked from the portal. Thick curtains hung over several windows, but white light glowed around the edges, illuminating the room enough for Reika to see everything clearly. She stood in a large kitchen, the kind that one saw in restaurants or bakeries, with work tables and huge sinks.

"Well, yes," she said to herself, glancing about. "It would make sense for Star-Cakes to come from a professional establishment, wouldn't it?"

Reika spotted a stool by one table, and she guided her lanky burden over to it. Just as she reached the table and started to nudge Joker to shift his weight onto the stool, a sudden gale of feminine laughter arose behind her.

Two blonde women bustled merrily through a doorway. Taller than a human and slender, each wore long, loose, yellow robes which shimmered as they moved, and their clear skin seemed to have a glow which brought more light into the kitchen. Shining gold stars had been woven into their unbound hair, and five-point stars sat on fillet headbands. Golden earrings sparkled from tapered, elvish ears similar to Joker's. Both carried mostly empty trays suspended from their shoulders; each tray had a handful of star-shaped pastries.

The women were in the process of removing the straps of their trays from their necks as they entered. One started to say something to her companion, but both stopped dead at the sight of the visitors in their kitchen. Both dropped their jaws and released their trays, scattering the little white cakes on the floor.

"Gracious me!" one cried in English. "Where did you two come from?!"

* * *

A/N:

This was a fic I wanted to get done back in December, but things didn't work out that way. Ah, well. Better late than never, right?

"Star-Cakes" is inspired by the one-act play, "The Dream Maker" by Blanche Jenning Thompson, published in _The Drama Magazine_ in 1922. It was something I thought would be really interesting to see in the context of the "Smile" universe.


	2. Chapter 2

Reika shrugged Joker onto the stool as quickly as she could. He uttered a moan and dropped his head onto the table. Reika swiftly bowed to the two gawking women.

"Sorry," she said, self-conscious. While she was usually thankful for any chance to practice her English, she hadn't exactly pictured this situation. "My name is Cure Beauty. I did not mean to trespass."

The two women exchanged looks, raising their starry eyebrows.

Reika gestured to the half-conscious jester. "This is Joker. He needs your help."

"Oh. Yes. Of course," said the one on the right. She flipped on the light and stepped toward the table. "We can help, can't we, Secunda?"

Ms. Secunda stooped to gather the fallen cakes onto her trays. "Probably so."

The other woman touched Joker's forehead before she realized he wore a mask, and her hand moved to his cheek. She knitted her brows.

"Hmm, what's the matter with him?"

"He said somebody gave him a Star-Cake," said Reika carefully, hoping they wouldn't interpret her statement as an insult against their wares.

Fortunately, the woman jerked a knowing nod, a little exasperated. "Ah. Somebody put his hand in the cookie jar, huh?"

"Poor kid," said Ms. Secunda as she stood. She tossed the soiled cakes into a nearby trash can. "By law, magic food sold in Selene County has to be enchanted by anti-thievery spells. If you eat stolen merch, even unknowingly, you're gonna have a nasty time with it. It's not lethal, but it's no picnic either."

"Will he be okay?" Reika asked, her eyes shooting wide open in alarm.

"He probably feels like he never wants to eat again," said Ms. Prima, "but I promise he isn't in any danger. More like woozy and nauseous, but I have the recipe for the counter charm."

Reika bowed, sighing a relieved, polite "Thank you" before she realized how genuine her gratitude shimmered within her. Joker hadn't been poisoned. However, if he had accepted food from "Clown-san," then he must have trusted that person to a degree, only to be betrayed in a physically unpleasant way. In the grand scheme of things, Reika wasn't surprised that Joker had his share of enemies outside of the Precure, and yet — strangely enough — a flare of righteous anger warmed her cheeks as she gazed at the moaning boy doubled over on a table in a strange kitchen. Not even Joker deserved this.

As Ms. Prima maneuvered around the work tables, she said, "I'm Prima the Star Maiden, by the way. That's my sister, Secunda. I wish you could've come to our bakery under happier circumstances, Miss Beauty."

"This your first time visiting?" asked Ms. Secunda, coming over to shake Reika's hand. "If you join our rewards program, you get five points just for signing up. Every hundred points gets you a free Star-Cake."

"Ah, no thank you," returned Reika, giving a sheepish grin. "I'm just here to help Joker."

Ms. Prima reached a refrigerator near the back of the kitchen. "Once I'm done here, you can take your young man home to get some shut eye. It shouldn't take me too long, but I gotta be careful with the measurements."

"Thank you," Reika said with another polite bow, but what Ms. Prima said struck a chord within her.

How was she supposed to take Joker back home to the Bad End Kingdom? And if she didn't, what happened when he felt better and remembered they were enemies?

"Oh, I know that insignia!" Ms. Secunda suddenly said, gesturing to the golden brooch on Reika's chest. A stylized heart sat in the center. "You're from Märchenland, are you? That explains how you got inside." She looked at her sister. "Doesn't the Queen of Märchenland have that magic portal with the bookshelves?"

"Ah, that explains it," nodded Ms. Prima as she withdrew ingredients, but she gave Reika a stern look. "Well, at least you two didn't break any locks to get in."

Reika quickly bowed again. "I'm deeply sorry about that. I couldn't control where the Book Door took us."

"It's okay, this time," said Ms. Prima before she spoke to her sister. "Perhaps we should move our bookcase to the lobby and put a lock on the kitchen door, Sec."

"Never seen a Märchenland fairy as big as you before," commented Ms. Secunda interestedly. "Do you work for the Queen? Are you a shapeshifter? A lot of fairy tales have shapeshifters. I heard the Queen can change her size to a mountain when she fights. Is that true?"

"I wouldn't know," Reika answered politely. "I'm actually from Earth."

"Oh, you mean the Queen allows you to live on Earth? Nifty. I haven't been to Earth in ages."

"Our play came from America," Ms. Prima explained, motioning between her and her sister as she pulled out a carton of eggs. "We get all sorts of folks around here, you know. Play characters, book characters, comic-book ones. Mankind always has some art project about the cosmos."

"The cosmos?" Reika repeated, quirking an eyebrow.

"Yes," replied the sisters in unison.

Reika wasn't too surprised at meeting fictional characters; she had personally met Momotaro, Little Red Riding Hood, Ali Baba, and so many others. At the mention of the cosmos, she pictured the sort of hard science-fiction books her older brother read, stories about figuring out how to use physics to fly spaceships around Jupiter or being stranded in space with the artificial gravity and life support broken. However, she had a feeling the Star Maidens' world wasn't quite like that.

Ms. Prima did a sudden double take at the contents of her refrigerator. "Oh! We forgot to pick up more cream while we were out, Sec," she told her sister, picking up an old-fashioned glass bottle of milk. Only a small amount of white jostled on the bottom. "I need it for the remedy."

"Say no more, Pri," said Ms. Secunda, giving her an ebullient salute. She spun toward Reika, beaming. "Say — Beauty, was it? Ever strolled down the Milky Way before?"

It took Reika an extra second to translate in her head: not because she didn't know that _Milky Way_ was the English name for _Amanogawa_, but because she wasn't sure if she heard Ms. Secunda correctly about "strolling."

"Say that again, please?" she asked politely.

"We-e-ell," replied Ms. Secunda, swiveling toward the door, "it's easier to show you if you haven't visited Galaxias before. Come on, hon."

"Yes, but…" She glanced uncertainly at Joker, who mumbled something at the table. The black holes of his mask, usually so expressive, gazed blankly at the wall.

Ms. Prima closed the refrigerator with her hip, carrying a collection of bottles toward a swinging door on the side wall. "Don't worry. I'll take care of your friend."

_That isn't what I'm worried about_, Reika thought.

However, she mused Joker wouldn't be healthy enough to do harm until he had taken the remedy, and he wouldn't have the remedy until Ms. Secunda brought back the cream. Perhaps a walk would help her think of a proper strategy to handle Joker when he inevitably recovered.

Reika nodded grimly, stepping after Ms. Secunda. "Okay."

* * *

Ms. Secunda led Reika down a short hallway to the front of a shop. A display case, a chalk-board menu and a register on a tidy counter faced a closed door between two windows with drawn curtains. These had the same white glow peeking around the edges like in the kitchen.

"We close up shop around this time to do prep work," Ms. Secunda explained as they walked through the quiet lobby. "Our other sister, Tertia, is getting flour from our supplier right now, so we'll be preparing the dough later and freezing it overnight for tomorrow."

"So, it's a family business? How nice," smiled Reika.

"For almost ninety-one years," returned Ms. Secunda proudly. She made a detour for the counter and rummaged behind it, withdrawing a pair of sunglasses with blue lenses. "Here, you can borrow these if you need 'em," she said, tossing them to Reika. "Some out-of-towners find the moonbeams uncomfortable."

"It must be an intense moon," said Reika, obediently unfolding the stick-like temples and slipping the glasses onto her face, setting everything in blue. "The atmosphere of your world must be very clear."

Ms. Secunda snickered slightly, like someone just moments from springing a surprise on a friend. She made for the door and stopped in her tracks in front of Reika, grinning.

"Well, you know how Märchenland fairies come from fairy tales, right?"

Reika nodded.

Her companion's luminescent smile broadened, glowing like her skin. "Before today, did you ever wonder where the fictional characters from other genres go to live?"

"And we are where space-related characters go then, as you said before?" Reika surmised, touching her chin.

"Hang onto your tiara, honey," Ms. Secunda tittered and pulled open the door.

Reika's eyes widened. Slowly, she followed Ms. Secunda across the threshold, temporarily forgetting even the threat of Joker's recovery as she descended the bakery front steps to the sidewalk, gazing at everything as they began their journey.

A night sky stretched above her, but there was no need for street lamps. The ground — or rather, the surface beneath her — shone with a white light (although it looked blue with her glasses), and it reflected across the surrounding architecture. Beautiful shops lined each side of the street, some with fancy awnings of silvery blue over mullioned windows, some with low steps and carved stone finials topped by large pots of moon flowers. Here and there, flower beds had been built into the sidewalks, and these contained fragrant star-shaped blossoms in various colors which Reika would've longed to pick if it had been allowed.

A few vehicles passed on the road as they walked, many of them wheel-less and hovering. Different people milled or strode along the street, but they were not all humanoids like Ms. Secunda. Some had blue or green skin or an extra arm hanging from their chests. Some wore space helmets or glowing rings for belts. One man walked a spotted, purple dog with two tails. As interesting as everything was, Reika found herself looking repeatedly at the sky.

Although the surface glowed beneath her like the lights of a metropolis, several stars laced the sky, as bright and plenteous as when she had visited the mountains last summer. They shimmered like candles, pulsing and twinkling as if some technician had set up a light show for the spectators below.

"Are those stars—" Reika stopped herself from saying the word, "real," which didn't seem particularly polite, and amended it. "Are those stars like the ones over Earth?"

"Nope!" chirped Ms. Secunda. "I'd say they're better, if you ask me. But that's just my unbiased opinion as a Star Maiden." She dusted her sparkling fingernails against her golden robes, playfully feigning arrogance.

"Does that mean you're a… literal star?"

"Not literal. Literary," Ms. Secunda answered. "The people of Galaxias come from all sorts of tales about the stars. Books, plays, films — if it involves personifying the celestial bodies, the characters come here."

"Fascinating." Reika looked about, taking in the glowing white. "Are we on a type of moon then?"

"Good eye, good eye. You might say this _is_ the moon, but different artistic versions mashed together, from old fables to cartoons for kids."

Reika raised her head to meet her taller companion's eyes, feeling suddenly shy and hopeful. "Would that include Princess Kaguya?" she asked.

"Kaguya from the Japanese story? I think she's a few counties over. I never met her myself, but I knew somebody who was friends with her, once upon a time."

Reika thought Ms. Secunda sounded a little wistful, but she did not comment on it, nodding peacefully instead. However, her smile stretched with excitement. Kaguya-hime had been one of her literary heroes as a child. When Reika had visited Märchenland back in the summer, she had hoped to run into her. While she had been thankful to meet Momotaro and the rest, she wondered what had happened to her old idol. Now, Reika knew which realm she had to visit. Perhaps someday, if things worked out, she might come back with her friends and get a glimpse of the moon princess.

How curious then — she thought, glancing up at the stars once more — that Joker would unintentionally do her yet another great service: first helping her stay in Japan and now this.

After a few minutes of walking, they turned onto a busier avenue, and Ms. Secunda stopped with a grin, nudging Reika. "Look up."

Reika obeyed — and stared.

A path of stars spiraled into the twinkling heavens, connecting to an astral river that looped through the sky like the genuine Milky Way. However as with the other stars, Reika noticed at once it looked different, exaggerated. It reminded her of a picture book Mother had given her years ago as a Tanabata present. Ribbons of pale blue light flowed through the stars like strokes of a paintbrush, and ships and barges steered a course as easily as if it had been water. Along the edges of the heavenly river, a boardwalk stretched like at a beach. People strolled along it or rode bicycles, looking like sparkling ants from this distance, and Reika spied several elegant shops and what looked like an amusement park.

"_Suteki desu_..." she breathed, enraptured.

"Don't need an interpreter for that," chuckled Ms. Secunda. "The creamery isn't that far. You'll be able to see Mars and Venus from up there, too."

If only she had thought to call her friends before coming here! Reika followed Ms. Secunda eagerly to the bottom of the celestial path, which were actually steps. ("Never try to take the elevator when you're in a hurry," the Star Maiden advised, casting a rueful glance at the stretching queue waiting for the elegant, tower-like glass shaft.) Ms. Secunda huffed a little as they ascended, but Reika did not mind the climb at all; the harder the path, the sweeter the reward — and what a reward! The stars looked brighter from here and more numerous, filling the sky like lamps. Among them, different types of ships floated through space, some stylized spaceships like in the robot animes Yayoi watched; others were more whimsical, like wooden boats with decorated hot-air balloons where the masts should have been.

As they reached the top, Reika breathed in the sweet aroma of the literary Milky Way. Pedestrians sat on benches by the bank to watch the cargo ships and yachts. Reika spied what she at first thought were star-shaped, glowing balloons hovering around people's heads, but on further inspection she realized they were living creatures, resembling Märchenland fairies. Some were no bigger than Candy.

As they walked, Reika's eyes zipped side to side, taking in the varying architecture. The marquee on a movie theater said MOON WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARF STARS. Another sign read: "Sagittarius Stables." Then there were "Orion's Archery Range" and "Hercules's Sporting Goods" and "Darželis Botanic Gardens" and "Lindu's Bridal Boutique" and "Aviary of Linnunrata" and "Pisces Seafood Restaurant" and many others.

At last they reached a large shop ("Milky Way Creamery — Voted Best in Moon Cheese for 15 Years"), and a long line stretched from its door down the boardwalk, nearly as long at the queue by the elevator. Ms. Secunda groaned.

"Of course, there would be a line _now_," she sighed. "Hope your boyfriend will be okay while we wait."

Reika stiffened. "Joker's not my —" she started to say, but she stopped herself. She adjusted her tone and formed a polite expression. "I'm just helping him."

"Lucky guy to have a caring friend then," said Ms. Secunda.

_Actually, I don't think he has any friends_, Reika reflected, averting her gaze. She couldn't imagine Akaoni, Wolfrun or Majorina taking the time to bring him to Galaxias; Wolfrun had been outright annoyed with Joker's presence that time the Precure had faced the very first Hyper Akanbe. Throw in the possible (but extremely likely) deliberate attack with the Star-Cake from his fellow clown, and it was clear Joker wasn't popular even among his own people.

What a miserable existence he must lead.

Reika touched her lip, mulling over that uncomfortable revelation. She doubted Joker would respond favorably if she showed him sympathy, and yet… She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. Nothing was easy when it came to that jester.

She scanned the surrounding area, trying to focus on the beautiful celestial sights instead of her enigmatic enemy. She spotted a road sign with gold stars in a pretty pattern. It had an arrow pointing down the street between two buildings and read, "_Library of Galaxias This Way_." Reika's gaze followed its direction, and she noticed then an enormous asteroid or dwarf planet which floated beside the boardwalk. A library with Greek columns and several stories stood like a palace, and a bridge with stylistic pillars connected the asteroid to the Milky Way.

"Oh, how nice," murmured Reika.

"Hm?" Ms. Secunda looked at her.

"Oh, excuse me, I just noticed that library over there," Reika explained, gesturing. "It's quite magnificent."

"Yes, it's really pretty inside. They've booked us for catering the office Christmas parties for the past few years." Ms. Secunda snapped her fingers, her eyes lighting up. "I have an idea. While I wait in line, you can pop over there and check it out. I'll find you when I'm done."

Always adventurous, Reika made her way over to the first bridge to get to the other side of the celestial river.

* * *

A bespectacled librarian with sparkling white hair sat at the long front desk, helping a queue of children wearing circlets with crescent moons. She greeted Reika as she entered but immediately returned to her little patrons. Reika removed her blue sunglasses, hooking them on the strap of her Smile Pact holder, and gazed happily at the lovely library.

It was the type which had the luxury of several rooms and tall bookcases. Spiral staircases and futuristic elevators led to upper levels, and a delightful, studious silence hung in the air. Reika walked through the rows of books in the enormous first room, wondering what sort of catalog system metaphysical space people used. She felt like an explorer discovering a new society, and although she tried to move respectfully through the library, even she couldn't stop the quickening of her steps as she came to the far wall. A pretty cased opening led to another room on her left, but a passageway to her right caught Reika's attention.

Several portraits lined the walls, broken by archways leading into yet more sections. Reika assumed the paintings were either of the library founders or important patrons, and they were as various as the people outside on the Milky Way. She even spotted a green-skinned alien with a short, elephantine trunk. Deciding it wouldn't take her too long to explore this wing before she moved on to the rest of the building, she sauntered down the passage, smiling at the different faces.

However, her smile faded when her eyes fell upon one particular portrait.

This subject wore all purple. A white ruff adorned his pale neck, and a vertical line of diamond shapes ran down his massive torso. His black hair had been styled into points, and dark flames hovered about his head without scorching him, contrasting sharply with the ghostly white visage that smirked contently at Reika with wide lips and glowing red eyes.

Reika stepped back. "Emperor Pierrot..." she whispered, all of her delight vanishing in a supernova of confusion and dread. "How — How can it be?"

Her mind raced, feeling like she had been caught in a trap. Joker had impeccable skills when it came to creating illusions and alternate worlds. When he had kidnapped her, he had taken her to his "room," a circus tent he had created from a target in her school's archery dojo. Months before that, he had consecutively trapped Candy and the Precure inside Balls of Neglect, pocket dimensions where the victims lived in an artificial happiness. Had he pulled Reika into yet another reality of his own creation? Was his illness just a ruse to gain her trust and get her to walk voluntarily into a metaphorical lobster trap?

Perhaps she ought to leave.

However, before she could turn and desperately flee to the nearest bookcase to administer the Book Door Code, a voice spoke at the end of the hallway from where she had come, and Reika nearly jumped out of her skin.

"Hey, are you finding everything you need — oh, you're from Märchenland, are you?" The librarian from earlier drew closer, and she switched to Japanese as Reika whirled around to face her. Her bespectacled eyes glanced at the heart insignia. "How nice! I've always wanted to visit myself. I hear the gingerbread houses are divine."

Reika formed a weak smile. "I-It's a very nice place," she said awkwardly. She studied the librarian warily, but she looked friendly, like a grandmother who made friends with the neighborhood kids. Despite her suspicions, Reika found herself relaxing. Even with all his skills, Joker didn't value friendship and kindness enough to replicate either so convincingly.

"Well, I just wanted to see if you needed any help," the librarian said kindly. "Have you been to the Galaxias Library before?"

"No. Thank you." Reika hesitated, then gestured to Emperor Pierrot's portrait. "Is he a patron?"

The librarian's blue eyes grew sad behind her half-moon glasses. "_Mukashimukashi_," she answered. "Before the emperor closed the portal to the Bad End Kingdom."

"Is that a bad thing?" Reika asked, raising her eyebrows. That suspicion flickered again. "Are you fond of the kingdom?"

"Me? No, no. Frightful place." The librarian shuddered hard enough for her hair to shimmer like a disco ball. "But you do feel for those people. All the disobedient children who get eaten by wolves and witches live there, you know. Makes me think of my own grandkids."

"I… I didn't know," said Reika, her eyes widening.

"Well, I don't blame you for that, if you come from Märchenland and all." She shook her head. "Terrible business. Most terrible. I'm glad the Queen was strong enough to fight so that none of the fairies were hurt in the invasion."

Reika nodded vaguely. She had only heard stories of Emperor Pierrot's invasion, but she knew that it had been a dark chapter for Candy's homeland.

"And Emperor Pierrot supported this library?" she asked skeptically.

"_So, desu ne?_ This branch of our library system services the moon characters below." She gestured to the floor. "Anything involving the moon used to get Pierrot-sama's attention. They're practically simpatico in literature."

"Pierrot, in literature?" Reika repeated, turning to look at the portrait in surprise. Emperor Pierrot came from a story like the fairies and his generals? Which one then? Her eyes fell upon the plaque beneath the portrait, and she then noticed the Latin letters spelling his name.

"Pardon me," said Reika, motioning toward it, "but I noticed that 'Pierrot' has the letter T at the end. Is it pronounced 'Pie-Rot' in English?"

The sad look on the librarian's face disappeared as she snorted. "No, no. Excuse me." She rubbed her nose, resuming her professional but amiable air. "The emperor's name is French, actually, so the T is just silent."

"Is he French?"

"Oh, that's a bit of a story, isn't it? Fortunately, we have a whole section dedicated to Pierrot-sama's many tales if you're interested, but I understand if you're not," she added quickly.

"Ah, well..." She actually didn't want to spend her free time in an alternate dimension researching an evil emperor who had tried to kill her. Since the librarian thought she was from Märchenland, it wouldn't be rude to refuse. However, Reika raised her head, blinking as she realized what she had just heard. "Excuse me, did you say 'many tales'?"

"I did," the woman nodded, and the bright dots in her hair sparkled. "In English, French, Italian, German, Hungarian, Russian, and more."

In that way, Reika found herself following the librarian to another wing until she stood in a back room with white walls and no windows. She gaped at a huge white shelf filled from floor to ceiling with books of different sizes, different colors and different languages. Around the room sat display cases with knickknacks and small paintings, each with a flour-faced clown with round puffs on his white smock and baggy white pants. Although it looked well kept, the whole room had an out-of-the-way feel to it, as if the library staff had hastily shoved all of Emperor Pierrot's works into this overlooked area after news of his war had reached them.

"Well, here you are," said the librarian with a hint of sigh. "I mean, I know he's not exactly popular right now, but…" She stopped, shaking her head. She stepped over to one of the display cases with figurines of the white clown flirting with girls in black masks, and she wiped a bit of moon dust from the glass with a tissue.

"Are those — Is that Emperor Pierrot?" asked Reika, staring at the collection of clown figurines and paintings. Some looked like shy little boys; some were adults who serenaded the night sky with a guitar or sat whimsically on a crescent moon, but a great number of them were frozen in looks of absolute heartbreak. Completely different from that purple gorilla she and her friends had fought.

"The Human World can't stop using him for art, can they?" the librarian replied. She straightened her dress. "Anything else you'd like to see?"

Reika glanced at the tall bookcase. It had a rolling ladder, and the burning curiosity inside Reika urged her to climb up the rungs and get to the bottom of this new turn of events. There were even reading tables with comfortable armchairs, and she had no clue when she would have a chance to come back to Galaxias with her friends. Didn't it behoove her to help out the Precure by unearthing important, relevant information about their greatest enemy?

"Is it… okay if I looked awhile?" she asked the librarian.

"Of course." The librarian picked up a magnifying glass from a nearby reading table and offered it to Reika. "You can use this translator if you want. This model translates into both hiragana and katakana. Donated by the Queen of Märchenland herself, you know. A wonderful, generous patron, since she has moon characters in her land, too."

She left Reika with another nod and a "recommended reading" list of what order to explore the clown emperor's extensive history. With the translating glass in hand, Reika started locating titles. She had always been a quick reader, but during the summer break of her first year of middle school, she had convinced her parents to let her take a speed-reading course for adolescents. It had come in handy a few months ago when Majorina, the villainous witch, had accidentally turned Miyuki into a giant toy robot. Reika had managed to read through the considerably thick owner's manual and learned how to pilot Miyuki for a grand battle. Now, it looked like her abilities would be put to good use once again.

"Intelligence gathering," Reika said to herself, feeling much like a soldier discovering the mother lode of reconnaissance about the enemy.

She found the first title of the list, _Dom Juan ou le Festin de pierre_, which was a French play by Molière. The magnifying glass translated it as _Dom Juan or the Feast with the statue_. The reading list had a small note saying that Emperor Pierrot appeared only in the second act of the play. She flipped to that section, which opened with two peasants, a woman named Charlotte and her fiancé, Pierrot.

In a heavy bucolic accent, Pierrot related how he had saved two strangers from drowning, which turned out to be the titular Dom Juan and his valet Sganarelle. However, Pierrot's awestruck account of the richer men switched to frustration. Pierrot wished Charlotte demonstrated her love for him, believing she only gave him lip service even after he had done so many things to please his bride. Charlotte dismissed his accusations, but her dialogue had an aloofness to it, even when she promised to try better to show her love toward Pierrot.

As the act continued, however, Dom Juan tried to steal Charlotte from Pierrot, which led to an uneven slapstick fight between the two men. Charlotte callously chided Pierrot for feeling upset at her betrayal.

_CHARLOTTE._

_Oh! Pierrot, it isn't what you think. Monsieur wants to marry me; you shouldn't give way to such tantrums._

_PIERROT._

_What! ain't you pledged to me?_

_CHARLOTTE._

_That's no matter, Pierrot. If you love me oughtn't you to be very glad that I'm to be madame?_

_PIERROT._

_Heavens and earth, no! I'd rather see you dead than belonging to another._

Reika re-read the text twice, and a chill ran through her at the declaration. Pop and Candy hadn't told the Precure anything about a person named Charlotte living in the Bad End Kingdom. In which case, Reika had to wonder — with a gut-wrenching feeling — what had happened to her.

She pushed that thought to the side and finished the scene. Pierrot left the stage, declaring he would tell Charlotte's aunt about what was going on, and that was his last appearance.

However, nothing else about his character resembled the clown of the Bad End Kingdom. Aside from the name _Pierrot_, there didn't seem to be anything to tie the cuckold peasant with the monstrous emperor. Had there been some mistake? No, of course not. The librarian was a professional and wouldn't confuse the Emperor of Evil with a French peasant. This had to the same Pierrot who Reika and her friends had fought and continued to fight.

_It must be awful to have the person you want to marry mistreat you so cruelly_, she contemplated as she read the rest of the act for completion's sake. Charlotte ultimately didn't marry Dom Juan, who was a cad that had already made a connection with another local woman, who he also didn't marry. Reika had trouble feeling sympathy for Charlotte, but she hoped Pierrot had parted ways with her without doing anything in retaliation.

She glanced at the figurines in the cabinets, taking particular note of the porcelain Pierrots who posed with pretty maidens; one woman in particular appeared more than the rest. Her hair color varied from piece to piece, but she wore a black domino mask on her face as if she were going to a costume party. Many Pierrots looked at her with imploring, affectionate eyes or expressions of unfulfilled longing, but either way Reika could tell the lady was particularly significant to him.

Reika stood, going over to inspect them. Up close, she noticed one case had a brass plaque with black letters.

_Depictions of Pierrot and Columbine_

_Various Artists_

So each of these women, including the mask-less ones, were the same literary character. Then who was Columbine?

She returned to the table and put _Dom Juan_ to the side. She scanned the list for a mention of Columbine and selected another title.

* * *

A/N:

The excerpt between Pierrot and Charlotte comes from a 1906 translation by Katherine Prescott Wormeley.

I've mentioned Molière for Pierrot's back story in other fics, but our clown's origins are actually a little murky, depending on who you ask. There are different schools of thought regarding when and how Pierrot came into existence. Some people who study CdA way more extensively than I do believe Pierrot is the French version of the Italian Pedrolino as a) both names mean "Little Peter" in their respective languages and b) both wore similar white costumes. However, others counter that they had different personalities; Pedrolino was of the smarter "first zanni" while Pierrot was often of the less intelligent "second zanni." Some believe Pierrot may have been derived from Pulcinella, who later inspired the amoral puppet, Mr. Punch, of Punch & Judy.

For my own fics, I prefer going with his Molière origins for a number of reasons, one of which being Pierrot's small role in a famous playwright's work. Seriously, compare Pierrot's meager part in this play to the similar character of Masetto from Mozart's _Don Giovanni_. He barely has any impact apart from being the unlucky rival. Yet Pierrot, this minor character, not only became a household name in multiple countries (and continues to have fans to this day!), but in "Smile" he also became emperor of the BEK. (Charlotte wanted to become a noblewoman through marrying Dom/Don Juan, but if she had only known what was in store for Pierrot…)

In any case, "Smile" established multiple versions of Cinderella being connected together by an Origin book, so there could be multiple versions of Pierrot, thus reconciling Pedrolino's existence and Pulcinella's influence. Alternately, Emperor Pierrot absorbs Joker in the canon, so maybe that's why we don't see either character...


	3. Chapter 3

"Ah, there you are!"

Reika tore herself from her book, laying down the magnifying glass as Ms. Secunda sauntered into the room. The Star Maiden planted her hands on her hips, gazing leisurely at the books and memorabilia.

"So, you found the Pierrot exhibit," she said with a glowing smile, literally and figuratively. "What do you think of it?"

"Very informative," Reika answered softly.

Ms. Secunda beamed at her, and she whistled at the stacks of books on the table. "Did you read all these already? You must be a genius or something!"

Reika gave a fleeting smile, but it faded as she gazed at the collection of plays she had already finished. "It's a lot... different than I was expecting."

In the stories she had read as a child, the only characters who received poor endings were villains or other unsavory people who deserved retribution. Because the _oni_ of "Momotaro" were evil, pillaging monsters, they lost their treasures to a young boy and three animals. When a man used the _tengu_'s fan to alter a girl's nose so that her wealthy father would agree to let the man marry her, he ended up failing due to his own hubris. Cinderella's step-family weren't invited to the royal wedding and were instead disowned by the new princess. Gretel shoved the witch into the very oven which the witch wanted to use to cook Hansel. These characters had earned their comeuppances because of their wicked hearts and lack of compassion for others.

But these plays… these stories with Pierrot… Reika felt a little sick to read them. After the first few she had abandoned the suggested reading list and had started to pull books out at random, desperate for something pleasant.

Charlotte hadn't been the only lover untrue to Pierrot. In one script, Pierrot related how his friend had persuaded him to marry a young woman, but after the wedding, Pierrot discovered his new wife carried his friend's child. In one German pantomime, _Der Schleier der Pierrette_ (_The Veil of Pierrette_), Pierrot had once loved a girl named Pierrette, who was now engaged to another man. She abandoned her wedding to visit Pierrot, and she and Pierrot agreed to a suicide pact. Pierrot drank the poison Pierrette gave him, but she then fled, returning to her wedding feast, where the ghost of Pierrot haunted her.

And then there was Columbine.

As Ms. Secunda picked up one of the books and flipped through the pages, Reika frowned at the stacks of her discard piles. She had started to skim through them rather than read each one meticulously, often jumping to the end to see the sort of ending Pierrot endured. Many made her heart ache, and many — she noticed — involved Columbine.

Columbine recurred more than any other lady. Sometimes she was a maiden Pierrot pined for, and sometimes she was his wife, but either way Reika had grown to dislike her. She often forsook Pierrot in favor of a more boisterous man named Harlequin. In the description of one pantomime, Columbine rejected Pierrot's love, choosing Harlequin, and Pierrot committed suicide. In another story, where Harlequin was scheduled to die at midnight, Columbine came to see him, not knowing her husband was already there; upset that Pierrot did not make a bigger fuss over her extramarital affair, she demanded Harlequin to start kissing her in front of him. In still another, Columbine abandoned Pierrot for Harlequin, and Pierrot was later executed for a crime he didn't commit. On and on it went, with Pierrot always unlucky in love with a fickle, faithless girl.

"So many sad stories," Reika observed quietly.

"Not all of them," said Ms. Secunda gently. "Those are just a portion of his plays. Pierrot got his share of happy endings, when the authors liked him enough. Would you care to read the play I'm from?"

Reika's head snapped up. "You — Ms. Secunda, you are from one of Emperor Pierrot's plays?" she gasped, her eyes widening in disbelief. Goosebumps bristled across her skin.

"A minor play," Ms. Secunda said modestly, not seeming to notice Reika's thunderstruck stare. "I mean, Pierrot is famous throughout so many cultures and magical realms. A one-act fantasy like ours isn't on the level of Molière, but it has a happy ending. If you want to read it," she added hopefully.

Reika's eyes darted across Ms. Secunda's smile, but she held onto enough composure to give her a controlled nod.

"Excellent!" Ms. Secunda trilled, shooting to her feet.

As Ms. Secunda climbed up the rolling ladder, Reika watched her carefully, conflicted. If she had known the Star Maidens came from a Pierrot story, she might have never agreed to help Joker find them. However, like the bespectacled librarian, Ms. Secunda seemed to radiate genuine kindness. The first time Joker had come into her life, Reika had sensed an extraordinary dreadfulness about him even before she knew he worked for Emperor Pierrot. Ms. Secunda, on the other hand, had such an easy, friendly way to her that she might as well have come from a different planet.

_Well, that's certainly true, in a sense_, Reika reflected, glancing about the room of the cosmic library.

Ms. Secunda returned with a small book with a collection of one-act plays. She ran her finger over the table of contents and flipped to a short entry, three pages long, and laid it in front of Reika, who read it at once.

It was called "The Dream Maker." The play opened with three Moon Maidens coming to visit Pierrot, a young man who crafted dreams out of his mother's rag-bag to please Pierrette; however, unlike the German pantomime, this Pierrette seemed much nicer. Even though Pierrot's parents, the Old Man in the Moon and his wife, derided him for not committing to the family business of selling moon cheese, Pierrot's dreams were lovely creations. They were so well made, the three Star Maidens ("_C'est moi_!" glowed Secunda, pointing at her first line of dialogue) bartered their magical Star-Cakes in exchange for "_golden dreams. And silver dreams. And dreams of rainbow colors_."

"Were they really that wonderful?" asked Reika, examining the text.

"Pierrot was an artist to the core. Always thinking up poems or songs. Dreams were his specialty, if you were lucky enough to see one of them for yourself."

Ms. Secunda fiddled with her sparkling blonde hair, running her long fingers over the tiny stars within her tresses. "Just because our author wrote him as our friend, it doesn't mean a king like Pierrot had to acknowledge us at all," she said. "We didn't even have names back then. But he'd stop in our shop when he'd visit Galaxias, even though he knew moon princesses like your Kaguya. Customers came pouring in to visit a place with a royal patron. That was beautiful enough, but he gave us a few of his dreams. I still have some of them."

"They sound lovely," said Reika, feeling strange as she re-read Pierrot's dialogue where he explained the materials from which his dreams sprang.

"_Here are flower petals, pink and white, and there's a crystal dewdrop. See, a rosy scrap of the dawn's soft robe—a golden web of sunlight; _

_here's the foamy crest of a green-blue wave—but here's the loveliest of all, a scrap of silver moonlight. See how it shines! I love it!_"

She touched her face, frowning. This Pierrot seemed so young, jovial and innocent, not at all like the monster who had tried to shoot a Bad Energy Cannon at her and her friends, using enough power to destroy a planet. The cheerful fellowship between Pierrot, the Moon Maidens and the Star Maidens as they joked and sang a love song Pierrot wrote could have easily rivaled the happy, precious moments Reika shared with her own dear friends.

She scanned the text again, studying Pierrot's interaction with his companions, his hope for them to play a game, their ready compliments of his musical skills and imagination, his modesty over his talents, his respect for the Star Maidens and their wonderful Star-Cakes, which could make people feel happy or courageous just with a single bite.

_THIRD STAR MAIDEN: Old Comet says he always shoots much faster after eating Star-Cakes._

_FIRST STAR MAIDEN: Why Saturn says he would sell all his rings for a single cake._

_SECOND STAR MAIDEN: Orion ate so many yesterday that his belt was too tight._

_Not something I'd expect Joker to have any interest in_, Reika thought as her eyes glided over the praises for the pastries. Customers wanted to dance and sing, or they felt like they could do anything. That sounded like the exact antithesis of a Bad End Space, the spell which drained nearby people and animals of Bad Energy and left them without hope or any memory of there being a point in even existing. Joker had put Reika into that kind of despair when he had kidnapped her, an internal agony strong enough to force her to de-transform from a Precure and made her barely recognize her friends when they had come to save her.

Had Joker known what the Star-Cakes could do?

Reika motioned toward the Star Maidens' dialogue. "If I may ask a question," she said, "do Star-Cakes work in the real world as they do in the play?"

"Wouldn't be in business this long if they weren't," grinned Ms. Secunda.

"And Emperor Pierrot and… other people from the Bad End Kingdom enjoyed them?" Reika frowned. "Even though they make people happy?"

"Have _you_ ever been to the Bad End Kingdom?" Ms. Secunda returned, a little flatly.

Reika halted in her reading. She fiddled with the page.

"Yes. Yes, I have."

If she had known about Star-Cakes back then, she might have wanted to sample one as a remedy against the eldritch discomfort which had radiated from the land itself. She would have assumed Joker and Emperor Pierrot would be inoculated against the kingdom's natural menace, but perhaps… if one were to live there constantly…

Pressing her lips together, she continued to read the surrealistic play, which turned its attention to the primary conflict. Pierrot longed for the beautiful Pierrette to notice him, and his friends came up with a plan to use a Star-Cake. Reika wasn't sure she liked the implications of them tricking someone into eating magical food, but before she could dwell on that point too long, a particular passage caught her eye and made her forget to cover her open mouth like a proper lady.

_PIERRETTE: What a pretty song! Did you make it up, Pierrot?_

_PIERROT: Yes—for you._

_PIERRETTE: How silly of you! It's a pretty song, Pierrot, but you can't earn a living by _

_making __songs and dreams. Nobody wants them. Why don't you help your father with the Green Cheese?_

_PIERROT: Oh, that Green Cheese again! I tell you there are people who want dreams _

_and someday I shall have a little dream shop—and over the door it will say, "Pierrot, the Dream Maker"_

_ and whenever you see a baby smile in its sleep or a tired mother smile at her work or a miser smile_

_ when he spends his gold, you will know they are buying my dreams. And all they shall pay is a smile._

Reika stared. She read it twice more. She considered again the possibility that she had wound up in another illusion of Joker's making, but something in her heart told her that this was a real book in front of her.

"Emperor Pierrot believed that?" she asked. "Not just in the play?"

"He was such a sweetheart back then. 'Parisian Pierrot, society's hero,' as that old song goes."

_Hero_ and _sweetheart_ were two words Reika would never have associated with anyone from the Bad End Kingdom. Could such an artistic, compassionate man become the monster who had terrorized little fairies and caused the Queen to enter an enchanted slumber after sealing him away? Was this the Emperor of Evil who wanted to steal the bright futures of everyone and plunge billions into a Bad End of his own creation?

Ms. Secunda glided her hand over the black-and-white illustration at the end of the last page: Pierrot on bent knee before Pierrette, who wore a sugar-loaf hat with a black pom-pom and a strapless dress with a tutu-like skirt, making her a fitting distaff counterpart for the dreamy poet. Reika wondered where the real Pierrette was now and what Emperor Pierrot thought of her. Had they been married? Had she been better to Pierrot than Charlotte or Columbine?

Reika felt a little afraid to ask.

Ms. Secunda lifted the pages and flipped them with her thumb. "I know a lot of other stories where Pierrot just wanted to make people's lives a little brighter." She laughed softly. "I remember a cute play where Pierrot was just a little boy, and all he wanted was a bag full of laughter to help weary people. The Clown of Clowns called it 'the heart of Pierrot.' Isn't that just adorable?" Her eyes softened like an older sister gushing about her baby brother.

Reika stared. "How did he become the ruler of the Bad End Kingdom then?"

"Lo-o-ong story, but I hear that a lot of the citizens trusted him because he could 'walk through both worlds.' You know, stories with happy endings and sad endings. Unlike characters who only know happy endings, Pierrot could empathize with his people's sufferings. And unlike characters who only know sad endings, Pierrot knew how to give his people hope and comfort."

Suffering. Hope and comfort. Was this why the generals followed Pierrot? Was this why Joker served him?

Ms. Secunda clicked her fingers, brightening like a candle. "Hey! If you ever come back here, you can read all the happy ones. There's _Buratino_, which is the Russian Pinocchio. There's the puppet play, 'Love Magic', and then there's plays like 'Matinata', 'Pierrot's Mother', and 'Pantaloon's Christmas Dinner.' There's _The Snowman_, a ballet written by an eleven-year-old kid. In 'Pierrot By the Light of the Moon', he was a real hero who stopped a girl from eloping with a despicable man."

"Really?" Reika tried to imagine it. "Are there very many happy endings?"

"It really depends on what's in vogue with writers," Ms. Secunda admitted, "but he still has some supporters in the Human World, even in this century. I hear he remains a popular choice for Venetian Carnaval costumes."

_And yet he wants to give all humans Bad Ends, even those who still love him_, Reika thought but held her tongue. Given the number of unhappy endings Reika had read… well, she couldn't completely blame him for resenting humans. A few months ago, Reika and her friends had become trapped in the magical Märchenland book, "Origin of Cinderella." Reika had been cast as the Prince, and any change she could have made would have altered all versions of her character. Since that time, Reika occasionally wondered — shuddering — how she would feel if someone had that power over her own life. Perhaps that was what Emperor Pierrot felt all the time.

Ms. Secunda gazed toward the door, and a wistful look crossed her glowing visage. "I remember the days when Pierrot would sit by the Sea of Serenity and write beautiful songs for the moon. You couldn't help but feel a little happier when he played them. Like eating a Star-Cake."

"What happened to him?" Reika asked. "How did he — well — change?"

Ms. Secunda shrugged, her face falling. For a moment, her eyes seemed to mist over, but then she cleared her throat. She slapped her knee and rocked forward onto her feet.

"Well then! I left the cream by the front desk, and we should probably leave before the library staff pours it all down the gutter. C'mon, Beauty."

Reika followed her out, mulling over her research. Pierrot, the peasant who was betrayed by his first bride. Pierrot, the broken-hearted clown who was the butt of many jokes and husband of fickle Columbine; the gentle soul who wrote love songs and wanted to make people happy; the famous character who was kind to Star Maidens and helped their family business; the monster who invaded Märchenland and forced the Queen to seal him away; the malefactor who sent his cruel minions to Earth to collect Bad Energy from innocent people in order to revive him; the king who Joker served with wicked delight; the harbinger of doom who wanted to give everyone a Bad End. How did she reconcile all these faces in the same person?

She did not know, but she knew just who to ask, and he was currently slumped over the table in the Star Maidens' kitchen.

* * *

The crowds seemed to have multiplied while Reika had been in the library, slowing their return journey. She and Ms. Secunda trekked patiently back over the Milky Way to the opposite shore and down the boardwalk. At the starry spiral staircase, they had to wait in line as foot traffic congested at the top like too much sand trying to pass through an hourglass at once. Ms. Secunda hummed a dreamy tune as they inched closer, but Reika kept silent, watching everything and thinking, _thinking_.

As they came to the top of the stairs and stopped again, Ms. Secunda suddenly said, "Beauty, are you doing okay? You look sad."

Reika looked up at her, hesitating before saying, "May I ask a question?"

"Shoot."

"What do you think of the legendary warriors known as the Precure?"

Ms. Secunda raised an eyebrow. "The story from Märchenland's folklore? I heard that each queen has the power to select people to become her warriors, but she only does so when the fate of the universe is at stake."

Reika gripped her hands together. "And what would you think if… if they had to fight Emperor Pierrot?"

"Then it is sad for Pierrot," said Ms. Secunda, the sparkle of her skin fading, "because the Precure always win in those stories."

The line began moving again, and they descended the starry staircase. Reika gripped the railing, focusing on keeping pace with the throng around her.

As they reached the moon's surface, Ms. Secunda led the way down the sidewalk. However, they had only gone a block when Ms. Secunda slowed to a stop, turning to Reika.

"You've got to understand something, Beauty. Maybe I'm a minor character, but I know good has to win against evil, and Pierrot's the Emperor of Evil, right?" She touched her heart. "And maybe he deserves that title these days, but I try to remember him as the good man who wrote poetry and liked to dance with his bride. That's the Pierrot who was my friend, once upon a time."

Reika lowered her gaze. "I wish I could have known him back then."

Ms. Secunda adjusted her hold on the bag with the cream, seeming to deliberate on something. As they continued down the avenue, she asked, "How old are you, Beauty?"

"Almost fifteen."

Ms. Secunda's brows shot up in surprise before they settled down in sympathy. "A little young to be a Precure warrior of legend, aren't you?"

Reika flinched slightly, but she saw no malice in Secunda's face. She drew herself up and said, "It has to be done."

Yet the words didn't sound as determined as they would've been only an hour ago.

"If you've been selected by the Märchenland Queen, then you have a huge task ahead of you," agreed Ms. Secunda. "One I don't envy. But I guess that's why you're the human, and I'm just an ensemble character from a forgotten play."

They went the rest of the way in silence, soon reaching the bakery's kitchen. Ms. Tertia, the third Star sister, had returned from her flour errand. She had tied back her sparkling hair in a bun to start preparing the next morning's batter, and she waved a sticky hand at Reika as Secunda introduced her.

"Pri is a wiz at potions and elixirs," she assured Reika as Ms. Secunda passed their older sister the cream. "She'll make your young man as lively as a meteor shower."

"I gave Joker a bit of peppermint candy to help his stomach," Ms. Prima said as she reached for a clear measuring cup. "It doesn't fully cure the hex's effects, but he ought to feel a little less miserable now. Teri and I moved him upstairs to the parlor so that he could be comfy."

Reika thanked them both and retreated up the flight of wooden stairs to the sisters' living quarters.

* * *

Three wingback chairs of a silvery blue which matched the wallpaper sat around a glass tea table in the dimly lit parlor. Joker slumped in one, a purple blanket with yellow moons across his lap, his head in his hands. He didn't look up as Reika took the chair beside him. His pale knuckles twitched as his fingers, buried deep in his colorful hair, moved back and forth across his scalp in a pitiful massage. However, his skin looked better, Reika noted, and he had stopped groaning.

_But what do I do when he __recovers__?_ she thought again, shifting uncomfortably on the chair.

She leaned toward him, laying her hands in her lap. "How do you feel?" she asked gently.

He opened his eyes but promptly closed them again. "Is it possible for a head to split in two from the inside?"

Reika blinked in surprise. "Not that I know of," she said — considering Joker came from a world where fairy-tale characters lived, anything was possible.

Joker grimaced. "Feels like I'll be the first."

Reika gave him a sympathetic look. "Whoever gave you that cake was exceedingly cruel."

Joker muttered something, but the only part Reika understood was "Clown-san..."

Reika hesitated, then decided to take a chance. "Why did you want the Star-Cake?"

"To… To… do something…" He squeezed his eyes tight, sucking air. "Oh, my head, my head…"

Reika waited until he breathed normally again and chose her words carefully. She felt a twinge of guilt for bothering an ailing person, but she had to get to the bottom of this Pierrot issue while Joker was still relatively docile. Any information he gave her could help the Precure protect literal billions of lives, and if she waited for him to feel better, he'd be her enemy again and try to attack her.

"Well then," she began gently but resolutely, "I read some of Emperor Pierrot's plays in the library."

"That's nice," he murmured, barely moving his jaw.

"I didn't know he was so famous."

"_Very_ famous."

Reika nodded. So far so good.

"I liked 'The Dream Maker,'" she went on. "Secunda-san says Emperor Pierrot's real dreams were beautiful."

A weak smile fluttered on his pale lips. "Pierrot-sama's dreams were legendary. I always wanted to see one. He showed me how to make a Ball of Neglect, but those are for his enemies. He doesn't make dreams now. Wish he did."

"I, too," agreed Reika.

The Ball of Neglect in which Joker had trapped the Precure had contained an elaborately detailed amusement park with all sorts of attractions and delicious concessions. Joker had said it was the sort of Bad End Emperor Pierrot planned for Earth, and in a way Reika could understand it. To have everything with no opposition had slowly made the Precure unable to see any point in continuing. If they had stayed longer than a day, the world of sloth and overindulgence could have become depressing. If that had been Emperor Pierrot's idea of torment, what had his golden, silver, and rainbow dreams been like?

"The song Pierrot wrote for Pierrette-san was lovely," Reika continued. "At least the lyrics were. I'd like to hear the melody someday."

"Pierrot-sama is an artist," agreed Joker.

"That's what Secunda-san said. She also said Emperor Pierrot often came here to Galaxias."

"It was one of his favorite places. Pierrot-sama loves the moon."

Reika nodded. "Yes, I saw the library had many paintings of him serenading the moon or sitting on it. I suppose that's why the author of 'The Dream Maker' made him a resident of the moon."

"Pierrot-sama loves the moon," Joker repeated.

Reika made her tone as kind and as tender as she could. "Then why did he close the portal to Galaxias?"

"He didn't want to hurt the moon."

Reika leaned down to search his face. "What do you mean?"

"He had to take the Despair of Humanity into his soul," Joker said in a tired, matter-of-fact way, "and he knew it could make him unstable. So he shut the portal to keep the moon safe. He loves the moon—"

He jerked suddenly, sucking in air again. His hands tightened their grip on his head.

Reika scooted closer. "Prima-san is working on the remedy right this moment," she assured him. "Do you need water?"

He gritted his teeth and shook his head, massaging his scalp again. As Reika waited again for him to regain some stability, she considered what he had said. What was the Despair of Humanity? Did Joker mean it literally, or was it the name of something magical? Why would Emperor Pierrot take it if he knew it could make him accidentally hurt the literary moon of Galaxias?

When his breathing calmed, she asked him, "Why did Emperor Pierrot need despair?"

"More power," Joker said, clenching his sharp teeth. "Couldn't control the Titans of Despair without despair. And he needed the Titans to give Märchenland and the Human World a Bad End."

"He didn't need to give anyone a Bad End in the first place," Reika pointed out with a frown.

"Revenge."

She paused. "Because of the unhappy endings he had to endure?" she asked gently.

Joker finally raised his head. His gaze remained disoriented, but he locked his eyes on hers, his face completely serious.

"Because humans made him lose his wife," he said.

Reika sat up, staring. "What."

Just then, the parlor door swung open, and Ms. Prima marched through with what looked like a porcelain coffee mug. Ms. Secunda followed with a spring in her step, holding a wooden box.

"Remedy is finished!" Ms. Prima beamed. "Once he drinks this, you can take him home."

* * *

A/N:

For the sake of flow, I didn't include the stage directions in quoting the dialogue of "The Dream Maker." Interesting fact: the play had Pierrot come from a family of cheese makers. While this is obviously a joke regarding "moon cheese," it becomes a Hilarious in Hindsight moment when you find out Molière seems to have intended Pierrot to be in the dairy business. Charlotte tries to "console" Pierrot about her intended marriage to Dom Juan by promising him, "If I'm madame, I can help you to earn money; you shall bring cheese and butter to our house." (Pierrot, of course, isn't happy with this "compromise.")

_The Snowman_ — That would be _Der Schneemann_ by Eric Wolfgang Korngold (1908).


	4. Chapter 4

Reika helped Joker sit up while Ms. Prima brought the steamy, milky concoction to his lips. He grimaced as the hot liquid touched his tongue, but he relaxed beneath Reika's hands the more he drank.

"Once he sleeps it off, he'll be his old self again," Ms. Prima assured Reika as she wiped the side of the mug with a paper napkin.

Reika hid her expression by pretending to straighten the frilly slip beneath her short blue skirt. "Thank you very much."

She gave Joker a quick glance. She still had to decide what to do with him, and the deadline only drew steadily nearer.

As Ms. Prima took the mug to the apartment's small kitchen, Ms. Secunda motioned for Reika's attention, beckoning her over to a corner in the parlor. She held out the wooden box as Reika joined her.

"I found this in my collection," she said softly as Reika accepted it. "Wait until you're somewhere quiet to open it."

"What is it?"

She gave Reika a cheery smile. "Just something that I hope will let you see the Pierrot we used to love. There are instructions inside."

"Wait, instructions—?" Reika tried to say, having a sudden feeling that what she held wasn't something one normally gave a complete stranger for free.

However, Ms. Secunda shook her head firmly. "'Tis the season, Beauty. Wait until you're somewhere quiet," she repeated, wagging a finger in an authoritative way before she stepped toward her sister, who had re-entered the room.

Ms. Prima pointed toward the parlor's other door. "You can use the bookshelf in my room so that you don't have to try moving him downstairs. It's probably tall enough for that fairy book portal."

Reika thanked her, and together the three of them helped Joker to his feet and down the narrow, wallpapered hallway to a tidy bedroom with vases of moon flowers on the nightstand, windows, and a varnished bookshelf.

"Can we see how the portal works, or is it super secret?" Ms. Secunda asked.

"Ah, well…" Reika began awkwardly, uncertain how to answer. The Precure had an unspoken agreement that the Mysterious Library had to remain a secret from humans, but they had never discussed what to do regarding non-humans before.

Fortunately, Ms. Prima nodded knowingly. "Ah, I suppose that's a no. Well, it was nice meeting you, Ms. Beauty. If you're ever in Galaxias again, stop in."

"We'll talk about our rewards program then," Ms. Secunda said cheerfully.

With a final goodbye, the Star Maidens trekked back into the hall, leaving Reika and Joker alone. With Joker's arm draped across her and with Ms. Secunda's gift under her arm, Reika had a little difficulty moving the books. Soon enough, the pink light engulfed them again, pulling them into the stretching tunnel of light.

The familiar feeling of peace settled on Reika as her feet touched the dais of the secret base. The nightly shadows stretched around them, and if she did not have to worry about the proverbial time bomb leaning against her, she might have been inclined to sit down and soak in the tranquility over a cup of tea and a science book.

Joker tried to straighten. "This place gives me the creeps," he said, as he had earlier.

"We have a couch up on the second floor," she told him. "Think you can climb?"

"M-Maybe," he said as he took a shaking step, right before his knees buckled. Reika had to grab his waist, nearly dropping Ms. Secunda's present to prevent him from twisting his ankle on the dais's steps. Stumbling, he tilted and sank into a sitting position.

"This works," he said, slumping against the small side portion of the quint-fold bookcase.

Standing, Reika laid the wooden box on the table. Beneath the second level of the base was a cozy reading area with a short wooden bookcase, flower vases, and floor cushions. Switching on one of the overhead lights, she retrieved a blue pillow and propped it behind Joker's head. He sighed a little as he leaned back, and he stretched his legs out, parallel to the main bookshelf.

"How do you feel?" Reika asked, sitting on the dais beside him.

He shrugged, shifting against the cushion.

"I can make you some tea," she suggested.

"You're very nice," he mumbled, lifting one eyelid higher to gaze at her. "If you're not careful, somebody's gonna take advantage of you."

Reika couldn't resist a ghost of a smile, knowing he'd never say those words if he were in his proper mental state. "I'd rather be kind than be cruel."

He snorted bitterly. "You've never been in a position where you _needed_ to be cruel. Your life is too perfect."

"I wouldn't call it 'perfect'—" she tried to protest, but Joker's head snapped toward her, and his scowl made her stop.

"When you gave up your opportunity to study abroad just to spend more time with your friends, your family took it in stride. If they'd been citizens of the Bad End Kingdom, your parents would've abandoned you in the woods for not being a perfect child." He turned his face away, rubbing his mask.

She stared at him, chilled in a way that had nothing to do with her ice powers.

"Is that — forgive me — is that what happened to you?" she asked.

Joker didn't answer. His hand dropped onto his lanky knees.

"This place gives me the creeps," he muttered again. "Where are we?"

"A library," she said gently, folding her hands. "It's full of picture books and fairy tales. I wonder if Emperor Pierrot's stories are here, too."

"If it's a library worth visiting, yes," replied Joker, bringing his knees up to his chest.

That would certainly be something to show her friends, she thought. She had a brief image of their gaping faces as she shared with them "The Dream Maker" and "The Veil of Pierrette." Reika reflected for a moment, remembering the unhappy scenes and endings which had disturbed her. Then she shifted closer to Joker, leaning forward to meet his gaze.

"Joker, what did you mean earlier about Emperor Pierrot losing his wife?" she asked. "Do you mean Pierrette-san?"

Joker shook his head. "Pierrot-sama never married her. He was already married to Empress Columbine-sama when Pierrette-dono was created."

Reika narrowed her eyes. "Columbine?"

Joker nodded. "He wouldn't be untrue to her, no matter what human authors wrote."

Reika considered it, remembering what Ms. Secunda had said about Emperor Pierrot befriending the Star Maidens when he could have ignored their comradery in the play.

"So," she appraised, "both of them have free will. Is that what you're saying?"

"Yep. We all do."

"And she really loved him then."

"Yep."

Reika glanced at her threaded fingers. "So the things, uh, the things about Harlequin…?"

"Pure fiction," said Joker firmly. "Pierrot-sama and Columbine-sama didn't submit to any pen stroke."

A bubble of relief rose through Reika, and she touched her heart, smiling inwardly — until she remembered the part of Pierrot's sad tale which still eluded her.

"Then," she asked pressingly, "what happened to Empress Columbine?"

Joker grimaced, sliding his long fingernails against the wooden floorboards of the dais. "We have free will, you know, but lousy authors can still give us memories. Even if we don't live through stories, we still remember them like they happened to us."

Reika looked at him in alarm. "Oh, Joker, that's horrible!"

"Yep."

A flare of empathy ignited in her.

"Then even though the empress had remained true to her husband," she said, her voice thickening, "the memories of adultery were in both of them. That… must have put such a strain on their hearts."

"Yep."

Reika gripped her hands together. "I think — I _think_ I'm starting to understand why Emperor Pierrot would… do what he did."

Joker scoffed out a raspy laugh. "Would you have any love for a species that made you kill your own wife by tickling her to death?"

Her eyes widened. "What?" she gasped.

Joker shifted against the shelf, trying to pull his cape-like collar over his chest like a blanket.

"It's a pretty famous pantomime. '_Pierrot assassin de sa femme_,' over a hundred years old," he said bitterly. "A French mime was able to portray both the part of Pierrot-sama tickling his wife and of Columbine-sama laughing until she died."

Reika covered her mouth, her heart tearing. "A-And both of them remember it as if it actually happened to them."

Joker nodded.

"Poor Emperor Pierrot. Poor Empress Columbine," she whispered. She felt sick.

Joker uttered a soft laugh. "You're finally comprehending things," he said, giving her knee a light slap as if they had been close friends. "The war you and I fight isn't about 'good versus evil.' It's about monster versus monster. And Pierrot-sama will never forgive your species."

_Never forgive_…

She stared at Joker's hand as it settled beside her, as limp as a doll. She wanted to protest and point out that there were good people in the world — that there were people who still loved Emperor Pierrot and didn't want him to suffer unhappy endings — that she and her friends had never even heard of Pierrot before they met Candy, and the students at school probably didn't know of him, so the ignorant shouldn't be punished for those sad stories — but her voice had trouble escaping her throat. All she could do was shake her head, but she could not bring herself to press the issue. Something in her heart told her to keep listening, because Joker seemed to have more to say.

"W-What happened to Empress Columbine?" she asked.

"She couldn't take it," he answered, louring a little. "The memories, living in the Bad End Kingdom. All of it snowballed on her and affected her health and mind." He sighed. "She wanted to make it stop, but Pierrot-sama got to her in time. He had to lock her in a happy dream to protect her from herself. His last dream."

Reika swallowed against her constricting throat. "He makes the best dreams, I've been told."

"I've always wanted to see a real dream of his," Joker said. "Those were from before my time. Now he only makes Balls of Neglect, and those are for enemies. But he won't make another dream until he can safely bring his wife out, and he can't bring her out while authors can torment her."

"She's been in there for years?"

"Years and years and years." He held up his hands to show a wide distance before he let them drop to the floor. "He's spent so long researching how to control the Titans of Despair to avenge her. Only last spring was when he discovered he needed to carry all of humanity's despair to control them."

Reika only nodded. She knew she ought to feel… anger? Righteous indignation? The need to give a heroic speech about love and forgiveness? But her empathetic heart instead tried to put herself in Emperor Pierrot's position. She had never fallen in love before, but she still had loved ones. If someone, even unknowingly, filled her mother's mind with unwanted memories, and if Mother tried to harm herself to make the despair stop, how would Reika feel toward the perpetrator of such unhappiness?

_As a Precure, it's my job to protect smiles_, she told herself. _But Emperor Pierrot had been suffering long before I was born. Who protected his smile when Empress Columbine had to be locked away?_

Then another thought occurred to her.

"Why would he attack Märchenland?" she asked. "A country of small fairies couldn't have harmed him."

"He knew the Queen would try to stop him," Joker said indifferently. "She likes humans, but if he took the Cure Decors away and made Akanbe Noses from them, then our side would have powerful weapons." He patted the yellow babble on the tip of the yellow section of his multi-colored hair.

His face suddenly fell. "Pierrot-sama made me stay out of the battle. He transported me most of the Decors for safekeeping. There were so many... but if only I had been there to help him in the invasion," he said bitterly. "The Queen wouldn't have sealed him away... if only I was there..."

Joker slumped against the bookcase, and the pillow slid out from behind him.

"And what have I done to help him since then?" he moaned. "I can't find the Miracle Jewel. I can't defeat the Precure. I'm part of the problem. He'll never forgive me. Never."

Reika reached for the pillow to straighten it, scanning him. Although she knew his definition of "defeating a Precure" involved her own death, everything she had learned in the past hour or two only told her that she still had much to learn about her enemies.

"Why do you serve Emperor Pierrot?" she asked. It was the most basic of questions, but one she should have pondered ages ago.

"He took care of me." He narrowed his eyes without really gazing at anything. "When nobody wanted me, the emperor himself made me his ward. I'm not" — hesitating, wincing — "I'm not a likable person, Cure Beauty. But Pierrot-sama is the only one who doesn't try to throw me away."

Her eyes remained fixed on him. Slowly, Reika made a small, deliberate nod.

"Yes... I can understand how one would pledge allegiance after that..."

She thought of the Queen of Märchenland. Reika could tell she must be a wonderful ruler from the love and devotion of the fairies. The Queen's Cure Decors provided food, fun and fulfilled fantasies for the idyllic kingdom of "happily ever after." By that logic, did Emperor Pierrot count as a good ruler? Perhaps he had, before he had taken on Despair itself. He had helped the Star Maidens with their business, and the grandmotherly librarian regretted his plunge into darkness. He had looked after an unwanted Joker, and the other three wicked generals probably had their own reasons for their loyalty. Even Pierrot's fall had only come about as an act of love for his hurting wife.

Yet, she couldn't condone what Emperor Pierrot wanted to do. Regardless of what had happened to his empress, if he fulfilled his plan, innocent people would die. Was there any way — any possibility — that she could help Pierrot find his healing and happy ending without him trying to steal the bright futures of his enemies in the process? If there was — and she hoped from her very soul that there was — perhaps that should be the path for the Precure to take.

Filling her heart strengthened by that solemn resolution, she gazed at the boy in front of her. Could she help him too? Would he let her?

She could at least try, while he wasn't trying to fight her.

"Joker," she said, as tenderly as she would to a suffering friend.

His hollow eyes miserably shifted to glance at her. "Hmm?"

"If Emperor Pierrot is truly someone worthy of your loyalties," she said, "then he'll understand you did your best for him."

He pushed himself up, blinking sluggishly. "You think so?"

She nodded. "There's nothing more precious than trying your best for your friends, Joker," she said soothingly.

He looked down at his lanky legs. "I hope so."

Before she could offer another word of encouragement, Joker suddenly reached for one of the four spiky strands of her icy-blue hair and pulled it onto his lap as if it were a small dog. Reika gave him an embarrassed smile.

"Now, now," she murmured, giving her entrapped hair a tug as he examined it. "We look with our eyes, Joker."

"You're not pretty, you know," he said abruptly.

She blinked at him as she tried to uncurl his sharp fingers. "Beg pardon?"

"You're not pretty," he said. "If you were, your name would be 'Cure Pretty.' Instead your name is Cure Beau…"

His voice died. His eyes closed, and his head fell to the side, fast asleep.

* * *

That Star-Cake must have rattled his brain more than she thought.

Shaking her head, Reika freed her hair and went to retrieve one of the throw rugs Nao had brought to the base a few days ago. After draping it over him and adjusting his pillow, she reviewed her situation. The primary thing was to make use of the time allotted while Joker slept.

_I'll have to use the bookshelves outside in the Mysterious Library so that I'm not climbing over him_, she reasoned. If she opened the portal, he'd just be sucked through with her, and then she'd have him lying unconscious in her house where he could wake up and harm her family.

Her blue heels clicked lightly against the floor as she stepped toward the front door and looked out. Night had fallen the library's hidden meadow, which was illuminated by the warm light pouring from the cottage. Even in the shadows she could make out the shapes of nearby flowers, and in the distance the bookshelves stood sentry, blocking out whatever laid beyond the tree trunks. In between its sections, alcoves glowed with bioluminescent mushrooms, aiding the meager light.

At this point, Reika might have to create an excuse to skip dinner back home, but first she'd have to call Miyuki and the others to meet with her. It'd be faster to use the phone at her house than to hop from residence to residence to gather the Precure. But did she dare leave Joker alone long enough to call her friends? What if he woke up in her absence and damaged the Mysterious Library? But if she didn't call her friends, did she just take him to some random spot on Earth and leave him there unconscious? What if he hurt someone when he woke up or created a Bad End Space to collect Bad Energy from nearby civilians, and the Precure arrived too late to stop him?

Trying to think, she studied the pretty arched alcoves of magical bookshelves, one stacked on the other, stretching as tall as a skyscraper. Starlight glimmered up between the highest branches as if beckoning someone to make a wish.

_If it's a library worth visiting_… she could hear Joker say.

Perhaps she could at least try to solve that problem first. It might be easier to explain her discovery regarding Emperor Pierrot's life if she had physical evidence to show her friends (although she hoped to take them all to the Pierrot exhibit in the near future).

Reika pondered a moment. When the Precure had been trying out different ideas for a secret base, they had decided to ask the Library for the perfect place. They had all quietly wished in their hearts and allowed the portal to carry into the unknown, finding themselves back where they had started. Perhaps the Library would be kind enough to help her now.

She closed her eyes and bowed her head over her folded hands.

_Please, Mysterious Library, do you have any books with Emperor Pierrot on your shelves? Please guide me to them so that I can show my friends, so that they can read his stories for themselves_.

She waited, wishing, wishing.

Then — she opened her eyes — from the darkness a pink light shone overhead. A book had illuminated on a high shelf up among the branches, far out of reach, but as Reika watched, it slid out from between its neighbors and started to float toward the ground. Reika broke into a jog, and as she neared the line of descent, she leapt into the air, using her enhanced jumping ability to meet the thin volume a hundred feet in the air. Grabbing it, she sailed back to the meadow floor, landing as easily as a cat. She bowed to the shelf with a heartfelt smile.

"Thank you very much," she said before she turned and retreated to the glowing windows of the secret base.

Sitting down in her favorite chair at the table — and casting another glance at the slumbering Joker — Reika opened to a table of contents full of fairy-tale titles and short stories for children. She skimmed through it — and immediately stopped when she came upon a familiar name.

_COLUMBINE AND HER PLAYFELLOWS OF THE ITALIAN PANTOMIME_

Her eyes widened, and she flipped to the short story. With her reading skills, she breezed through the eight pages in moments. By the end, a small, warm smile settled upon her face.

"Ah," she said to herself. Her friends would be surprised at this find, but she was sure they would be glad to have more information about Emperor Pierrot. Miyuki especially would adore this story — and its ending.

Reika turned to send a smile toward her sleeping companion, and it was then her eyes fell upon an object on the table: the wooden box Ms. Secunda had given her. She still hadn't opened it. Curious, she reached for the box, peeking inside — and in a few moments she completely forgot the book.

* * *

Joker didn't open his eyes immediately as he regained consciousness. He felt stiff, tired, and disoriented, none of which were helped by the fact that he had fallen asleep in a sitting position. He must have lost track of time and dozed off on one of the tall rock formations near the palace again. At least he hadn't rolled over and woke up mid fall this time.

He remained motionless, not bothering to snap a finger to relieve his muscles. He tried to remember what he had been doing before he had fallen asleep; it felt like something important had happened, but he couldn't place a finger on it. Not until a snow-white, grinning face swam across his mind.

Joker clenched his jaw.

"Clown-san…" he spat, his sudden anger giving him the energy to lift his hand against his woozy head.

Looking back, he should have known better than to trust Clown, who was a chaotic entity on another level. Although created for the harlequinade pantomime rather than true _commedia dell'arte_, Clown was the only person from the Happier Days, besides the empress, who Emperor Pierrot still favored. Clown could stroll right up to the king without even a by-your-leave, and he addressed the greater without royal titles or honorifics, even calling him nicknames like "Petey."

_Sacrilege_, Joker often thought but held his tongue around his elder. Clown, on the other hand, was much freer with his words.

"Enabler," he had called Joker in the spring after the Queen of Märchenland had sealed Emperor Pierrot away. "Toxic zealot" had been another accusation.

"Is it toxic to be loyal?" Joker had retorted with a sneer. "Is it toxic to make Pierrot-sama's wishes come true?"

"A boy from the Bad End Kingdom ought to know some wishes shouldn't be granted. Petey needs a true friend, not a fanatic who regards him as a deity."

"Isn't he one?" Joker had challenged.

Clown had only shaken his head before he took his leave of the palace, having been dismissed by the emperor, who wanted no social visitors in his current state.

The rest of the year had given Joker ever increasing stress and dread. The three worthless fairies-turned-generals had continually lost Cure Decors without inflicting lasting damage on the Precure. Emperor Pierrot, impatient with their constant failures and his continued imprisonment, had delivered ultimatums to each general, demanding they defeat just one Precure to stay in his favor. After all three had failed (and lost three more Decors to boot), Joker had taken it upon himself to do his master's bidding, but…

Joker swallowed painfully at the memories.

In that one year, he — Joker the ever faithful, the ever grateful — _he_ had failed Emperor Pierrot not once, not twice, not even thrice, but in a long list of avoidable ways.

Yes, he might have kidnapped Candy and stolen the Décor Décor, but he had lost, shamefully, to Cure Beauty and had stupidly allowed her to regain the last Cure Decor needed because he hadn't bothered to put the Decor in a proper hiding place. He might have trapped Candy in the first Ball of Neglect, but she had escaped and had activated the Royal Clock. He might have trapped the Precure in the second Ball of Neglect and had them all under its spell, but he had arrogantly allowed Candy to enter after them, and the Precure had escaped together — no, not just that. They had destroyed the Yellow Nose Akanbe Joker had created, thereby gaining the Elephant Decor by his mistake.

Then — then — then when he had kidnapped Cure Beauty… there were just too many mistakes to count. Why hadn't he just ended her with a sneak attack when he had found her in the school's archery dojo? Why had he allowed her to keep her Smile Pact when he had taken her to his room? Why hadn't he impaled her with his sword when she was broken? Why had he brought the other Precure into his room and allowed them to talk to her? Why had he bothered with a Hyper Akanbe when the Blue Nose didn't have a Cure Decor for the Precure to reclaim? Why didn't he snatch the Pudding Decor before the girls could get it instead of teleporting away like a coward?

And why did every single mistake he had made that year involve Cure Beauty in some way?

As such, when Clown had come that afternoon for his annual Christmas visit, Joker had been in a spiraling mental state. As much as he had tried to keep a mask of chipper indifference, Joker's hands had trembled whenever he thought of Pierrot's mounting wrath. Clown had (annoyingly) seen through Joker's act and had offered consolation.

"I have just the Christmas present for you," Clown had said with an encouraging grin that Joker should have found suspicious. "Ever heard of a Star-Cake? Petey used to eat these by the truckloads. His queenie did, too. One bite, and you'll feel like you can do anything, me bucko."

Clown had pulled out a whole plate of the star-shaped pastries and had left one for Joker to consume at his leisure. Joker had read about those desserts (he knew most of Emperor Pierrot's favorite plays by heart). Star-Cakes could give the consumer courage and confidence, allowing them to accomplish any task.

After all his failures, Joker needed that. So he hadn't scrutinized the gift or the giver.

Then… he went to Cure Beauty's house. Then he withdrew a knife. Then he took a bite of the Star-Cake.

And then…

With a jolt, Joker opened his eyes, but instead of a tall rock, he found himself in a furnished room with pink paneled walls. An old-fashioned wooden door laid before him, closed but with no signs of a lock. Some sort of blanket covered him, and a pillow cushioned his head. A bookcase divided into five sections stood at his right side while across from it sat a table with chairs — and at the table, with her head propped up on one hand, Aoki Reika sat, fast asleep — and in her normal civilian clothing.

Joker stared at her serene face, the picture of content slumber.

Slowly, he pushed himself to his feet, allowing the blanket and pillow to fall.

This was better than any Christmas present — he could deliver the glad tidings to Emperor Pierrot of a Precure's demise. Cure Beauty was practically gift-wrapt for him, waiting for him to end her. Joker could finally do something to relieve his liege's sufferings.

He didn't trust himself to teleport, instead walking on the balls of his curled shoes to maneuver around the table without noise. A simple flourish produced a knife in his ready hand.

"Sleeping Beauty," he muttered as he gazed down at her blue head, able to find a pun even in the most bizarre circumstances. She certainly looked as if she were in some magical sleep from the way a smile hovered on her lips.

He raised the knife.

Her breathing stayed slow and gentle. His gaze trailed down her dark-blue hair. The electric light from above made the strands shine and look extra soft — as soft as her heart, no doubt. One good plunge would dye her periwinkle sweater red, and her blue eyes would never see another sunrise. Her strong spirit would never create another Beauty Blizzard to destroy an enemy. Her lips would never utter another self-righteous speech or know the joy of a kiss.

He could finally steal her future. He could finally please Emperor Pierrot.

He adjusted his grip on the knife. The blade glinted as his arm hovered.

One good plunge. That was all he needed.

So he didn't need to hesitate — _he didn't need to hesitate_.

Joker shuffled a little closer. His eyes traveled over her, taking in the details of her last moments. Her side lock laid against her smooth temple. Her dark eyelashes settled on her soft cheek. Her pleated gown and bolero sweater hung on her petite figure, which rose and fell gently with her final breaths. Her free hand rested on a wooden box. Beauty had an open book in front of her; however, instead of one of her beloved school books, she had, uncharacteristically, chosen a picture book.

Curious, he checked the title at the top of the page, and he promptly did a double take at the familiar katakana characters of the first word.

"Columbine-sama…" he muttered, widening his eyes. Why was Beauty reading about Pierrot's bride? Where had she even found that book?

Well, he wasn't about to wake her up and ask, was he? He had to finish this now. No more delays.

Beauty stirred, murmuring sweetly.

_Do it. Do it_.

She uttered a soft sigh, grimacing slightly as she started to waken.

_Do it now. Do it now_.

She raised her blue head, opening those large blue eyes to look straight in front of her. She blinked at the bookcase, as if puzzled. Then her face blanched, and she spun in her seat, right toward him, stopping cold.

Her eyes widened at the sight of his knife. She sprang from the chair with a gasp, toppling it over as she backed away toward the tiny bookshelf under the stairs.

Joker chuckled darkly, gesticulating with the blade. "Well, I _was_ going to do you a favor by offing you in your sleep, but if you're going to be an ingrate about it…"

He expected her to grab her Smile Pact and transform — he could have the blade through her heart before she finished the magic words to awaken the compact's powers — but Beauty's hands stayed at her side. She straightened her shoulders like a princess, fixing her steady blue eyes on him.

"I have something to show you first."

Her calm delivery caught him by surprise. He scanned her, half-expecting a trick, but as she literally had no chance of beating him in her current form, she had no counter attack to lob against him. He lowered the knife.

"Eh, I could use a good laugh," he said. "What does Cure Beauty have that could possibly be worth my interest?"

She gestured to the box on the table. "Look inside."

"I'm not going to find a bomb in there, am I?"

"Just look," she urged. "It'll only take a few seconds of your time."

_Just end her. Just end her_, his mind urged, but his curiosity was piqued nevertheless.

He lifted the box and looked inside. A crystal orb sat nestled on a velvet lining with star patterns; swirling white mist lazily danced within the ball, glittering with silver. Joker picked up the small ball, raising an eye ridge. A powerful magic emanated from it, but he could tell it wasn't of Märchenland origin.

"Never took you for a crystal gazer," he commented. "Starting a fortune-telling business, are we, Cure Beauty?"

"Secunda-san the Star Maiden gave it to me," said Beauty.

He looked at her sharply. "How do you know about Star Maidens?" he asked suspiciously.

Beauty only smiled at him and continued as if uninterrupted.

"What you're holding" — her eyes twinkled sweetly, as if her life wasn't in any immediate danger — "is a silver dream Emperor Pierrot made."

Joker almost dropped it. "You're kidding."

Reika shook her head, still wearing a quiet smile. "Emperor Pierrot traded it for one of Secunda-san's Star-Cakes, years ago."

Joker gingerly gripped the little orb, feeling almost like a child with filthy hands holding a priceless heirloom. It looked so much like the Ball of Neglect, but instead of dark magic to ensnare one's enemies, he could feel creativity and whimsy floating about its resplendent depths — the emperor's own thoughts and fancies. Joker — he, Joker — held his king's imagination in his palms.

"An actual dream made by Pierrot-sama," he breathed, feeling proud and humble all at once. "This... This is a precious keepsake."

"Then you should have it," said Beauty.

He blinked. He tore his eyes from the dream and looked at her. He blinked again.

He said, "What."

"Call it a Christmas present or an early New Year's present — or whatever you celebrate in your kingdom," she added. Her gentle visage, normally as tranquil as fresh snow, gained a lovely, vibrant spark. "It's a beautiful dream. I enjoyed it tremendously, and I think you will, too."

Joker looked back at the orb, an odd sensation rising inside him. How long had he wondered what the emperor's dreams had been like in the Happier Days? Now, he had one of his own — because Cure Beauty thought he should have it.

Why? What did she gain by giving up such a valuable treasure, and to an enemy no less?

He heard something click, and he realized Beauty had stepped over to the tall bookcase where he had awoken. Now she slid books on the shelves in a specific pattern.

"Hey, what — ?" he tried to say, but a pink light burst from the bookcase, enveloping them both in its intense beams.

* * *

If he hadn't possessed the ability to fly, the brief trip through the spectrum of light would have been much more alarming. Even so, he still felt like a swimmer caught in riptide as the tunnel pulled him into its variegated depths.

Beauty soared ahead of him, her limbs poised with the deft skill of someone who knew her away through the vortex. As she reached the end of the tunnel, she hopped right out of the air and onto solid ground. Joker curled his body into a loose flip and landed with an acrobatic ease, quickly adopting a look of nonchalance, but he sent a furtive glance about their new surroundings.

It looked like some kind of office or laboratory. Behind them, thick books and plastic binders filled the bookshelf from which they had emerged. An intense cold hung in the air, and a glimpse out a nearby window revealed a great field of snow, but he spotted no buildings or trees.

"Where are we?" he asked, trying to sound like he found this all to be a cute prank.

Beauty took two steps away, inadvertently sliding a little across the floor in her blue socks, and spun to face him.

"The South Pole," she replied calmly, although her teeth chattered. "If we're going to fight, I'd prefer we have room. I believe a whole continent should be suitable."

"If I didn't know better, I'd think you just made a joke."

Beauty reached into her dress pocket, fishing out the pink compact. However, instead of holding it like a protective talisman like she would have normally done, she folded her hands loosely around it and met his stare.

"To be completely truthful," she said, "if there was a way where we could resolve our differences without battle, I'd be inclined to follow that path."

"You could surrender," Joker suggested.

Her eyes widened before they briefly hardened, but then a strange, tranquil expression took over her features.

"I really do hate to do this," she said tenderly. Her fingers tightened around her Smile Pact, but she did not say the transformation incantation, almost as if she were hoping that something else would happen to stall their inevitable skirmish.

What had gotten into her?

Joker flexed his grip against the white orb of the emperor's dream, his first thought to put it back into the wooden box still in his other hand before any physical altercation. Yet the longer Beauty kept those steady blue eyes on him, the stronger a strange feeling grew within him. He glanced out the window at the snow-laden continent, more to avoid looking at her.

Then he smirked, scoffing slightly. "Oh, like I'm going to fall for that," he said, returning the precious silver dream into its container.

"Fall for what?"

He shook his finger like a metronome. "The ice maiden takes me to the South Pole where she has the field advantage and expects me to fight? You're craftier than I gave you credit, but I won't take that bait, Cure Beauty. Nice try though."

He made a slow clap.

Beauty looked at him in surprise and protest. "That's not what I — "

He shook his head and teleported away.

* * *

"Did you just come home?" Mother asked, coming out of the kitchen.

Reika quickly returned the receiver of the house phone back to its place.

"Ah, yes. Sorry," she said quickly, shamefaced. "I was out and lost track of time."

Fortunately, Mother did not ask where "out" had been. She gestured to the book in Reika's arms.

"Did you go to the bookstore?"

"A library," said Reika.

Mother nodded, wearing a trusting expression. "Well, next time try to call if you're running late. I saved you a plate, if you want supper."

Reika apologized again and thanked her, stepping around Mother to enter the kitchen. She had managed to phone Miyuki and Nao before Mother had interrupted, and they had agreed to call Yayoi and Akane to see if they could all meet in the library tomorrow. Reika had not told them about Galaxias or the Pierrot exhibit or Joker; that sort of information could not be communicated over a telephone. What she had told them instead was that she had found a book in the Mysterious Library featuring Pierrot, which they needed to see as soon as possible.

After she made sure Mother had retreated down the hall, Reika cradled the library book and flipped back to her discovery. The tale contained the sort of artistic liberties Reika had come to expect in Pierrot stories; instead of Pierrot and Harlequin vying to win Columbine's heart, they were children trying to become her favorite friend. Columbine for a time preferred Harlequin's wild frolicking in the sunny meadows over Pierrot's contemplative songs about moonlight. However, once Pierrot left town, she began to miss the calm balance he had brought to her life. In the end, though Pierrot won the place as Columbine's closest companion, the two remained friends with Harlequin.

It must have given the real Empress Columbine a lovely memory when it was penned.

There was also — she noted, flipping back to study the illustrations — a character who worked for Columbine's father, a buffoon with a ruffled collar known only as Clown. It would appear she had found Joker's enemy.

"There is much more going on than previously believed," she said aloud, gazing at the last illustration, which showed the adolescent Pierrot on a stage, acting out a play he had written about his love for Columbine while the real damsel watched in rapture from the audience.

Reika remembered the storybook of the Precure, which Pop and Candy had read to them all those months ago. The illustrated pages had shown all sorts of images, including one of the three generals thinking of ways to revive Emperor Pierrot. However, the book had told them nothing as to why Pierrot would attack anyone. Joker had not even appeared in the book alongside the other villains. Was there anything else the storybook had left out?

With a last look at Pierrot and Columbine, Reika closed the book, gripping it.

For the first time in her life, she wished more than anything she had a talent as a fiction writer. She pictured herself crafting a story where Emperor Pierrot and his Columbine were able to find peace and happiness together. As Reika's hand would fly across the page with all the fire and focus she put into archery or goldfish scooping, she'd make a story where Joker could find favor with his king without feeling the need to harm anyone. She would heal the bitter wounds of his past and see a kind smile on his young face. While she was at it, she would give Wolfrun, Akaoni and Majorina good tales where they could forget whatever urged them to steal the futures of everyone. She would create enough tales so that every bad memory was forgotten. She could heal every fictional character who mourned, and it'd only take just some ink and paper.

"Ah, but that power is too much for anyone, isn't it?" Reika whispered to her stirred-up heart. One only had to look at what authors had done to Emperor Pierrot in their ignorance; wasn't it morally questionable to force happy memories into someone without their consent, without even stopping to consider the lasting consequences?

As she stood thinking, she recalled what Miyuki had said that afternoon — it felt like it had happened days ago instead of a handful of hours. After they had fought Wolfrun and gone strolling through the falling snow, Miyuki had felt inspired to share her new discovery regarding "ultra happiness."

"_I think it has to do with the kindness in our hearts. Whenever I'm feeling_ ultra happy_, I think about how someone has been kind to me. That's why I want to share that kindness you have all given to me to all sorts of people._"

Perhaps that was the secret path out of this dilemma. Emperor Pierrot had been kind once upon a time; the philanthropist had to be in there beneath the despair and vengeance.

They had only one more Cure Decor left before the Queen was revived, Reika remembered. Now it was just a waiting game for the next general to come with an Akanbe nose and a Bad End Space, but couldn't the Precure spend that time thinking of something to help their enemies regain their lost hope? Couldn't the five Precure, with the aid of Candy, Pop and all the fairies, bring their strong feelings and talents together to make a way where the suffering villains could find peace?

They could at least try.

_And we will_, Reika told herself, holding the library book against her heart. It was her duty to protect everyone's smiles and to give everyone a happy ending, including Emperor Pierrot and Empress Columbine — and even Joker.

THE END

* * *

A/N:

Thank you for reading! I've been wanting to do a fic exploring Pierrot's lore for quite some time; I even have concept art from last April of Reika and Nao reading plays. So it was nice that I finally got to do something with the idea, even though I only just scratched the surface, haha.

A special thanks to Circusgoth31. When we were discussing Pierrot's dream-making abilities in the play, Circusgoth made the comment: "Joker had the ball of neglect (dream ball), so that could explain it a lot," which inspired me to have Pierrot's dream be a white ball to contrast with the BoN. As "The Dream Maker" is vague on how Pierrot's dreams work, I leave it up to your imagination as well.

_Columbine_ — Although I've used Columbine's infamous infidelity as part of Emperor Pierrot's tragic backstory, I wanted to give the gal a break because C/P is my OTP for CDA. On the flip side, while I've portrayed Pierrette as Pierrot's true love in other works, P't/P'e borders on being a NOTP. Personally, I think Pierrot and Columbine have better chemistry together (in stories where they are end game). Pierrette is often portrayed as "perfect" for Pierrot, which means sometimes the conflict of the story revolves around one of them having to wait for the other to see how they're "perfect" together. Columbine, however, is allowed to be a flawed character, so when they're together, it's much more meaningful (and downright adorable).

_Clown_ — While Pierrot and Harlequin are often described as types of clowns, Clown (sometimes called "Joey") is a specific character from the harlequinade. (He looks a little bit like Skarsgård's version of Pennywise, which makes viewing old Victorian postcards/Christmas cards with Clown an interesting experience.) As the harlequinade used to be part of the Christmas pantomime in Britain, I had the idea that if Clown were still alive in the "Smile" universe, he'd pop in to see Pierrot around Christmas as a Mythology Gag. (Regardless of whether the BEK celebrates any sort of holiday at any time of the year, Clown does his own thing.)

_Petey_ — I might be in the minority, but I like it when stories reference that Pierrot's name means "Little Peter." In "Mr. and Mrs. P. Roe" by Martyn Johnson (1913), Pierrot & Columbine are self-aware fictional characters pretending to be human, and Pierrot's alias is Peter Roe. Columbine calls him "Peterkin" as a nickname. (Daww!) The animated film "Pauvre Pierrot" from 1892 (yes, **_1892_**) is officially translated into English as "Poor Pete."

_"Columbine and Her Playfellows from the Italian Pantomime"_ — A summary of the basic harlequinade plot was included in _Through Fairy Halls of My Bookhouse_ (edited by Olive Beaupré Miller, 1920). So, technically speaking, as this Pierrot story appears in a book alongside other fairy tales, there's a possibility that the Precure could, indeed, read about him in the Mysterious Library! :D (You think "Buratino" is in there?)

_Joker being pulled in by the Book Door_ — As we see in Ep. 6, the girls are sucked in at close range to get to the Mysterious Library the first time, but in Ep. 7 we see that Miyuki is still hanging from a tree branch when Reika takes them to Mt. Fuji.


End file.
